RE: Cross Platform?

["Hedley Finger (EPA)" <Hedley.Finger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

One of the more brilliant things Apple did was to associate a creator type
(MSWD = MS Word, R*ch = BBedit) and a file type (TEXT = ASCII, FBok =
FrameMaker book) with every file.  These replace the .ext used in Windows to
identify the file type.  Space and your time forbids an extensive
explanation of why creator and file types are A Good Thing.

However, every Macintosh file actually consists of two files (or forks, in
MacJargon).  The resource fork contains the type information, among other
information, and the data fork contains the document.  Various network
operating systems handle this in different ways.  Some create a Resource
folder within every folder that contains the resource forks of all the files
in the folder.  (Get a MacFriend to save some files on an MSDOS formatted
disk and poke it into your Windows machine to see the bunch of files that
the Mac OS uses.)  

Another approach is to prepend the resource fork to the data fork before
writing it onto the file server with the foreign operating system.  This
option is rarely used because of the problems you have encountered.

Apple and the network OS vendors have solutions to allow complete file
interchange, so get your NT guru or your nearest Apple consultant to help
you work out what's going wrong.  Macintoshes have been working with
networked files servers and other heterogeneous clients for years, so your
glitch is fixable.  I have worked in an environment of both Mac and Windows
FrameMaker users storing files on an UNIX file server without problems,
proof that your problem is fixable.  (Hmmmmm, Windows NT Networking, Bill
Gates, and Mac ... is THAT your problem?)

Regards,
Hedley

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	franks@fsatools.com [SMTP:franks@fsatools.com]
> Sent:	Friday, January 28, 2000 8:41 AM
> To:	framers@FrameUsers.com
> Subject:	Re: Cross Platform?
> 
> > At 02:13 PM 1/26/00 , Madeleine Reardon wrote:
> > >A more mundane problem: these files were created on Windows. I'm
> working on
> > >them on a Mac. I sent a test file to an NT machine & it can't open it,
> offers
> > >the Unknown File Type box and wants to know what to convert it to. Any 
> > >ideas why?
> 
> I'm not a Mac person, but this problem has occurred before. (I was bitten
> by it years ago; others have been too.) In some network modes, the Mac OS
> places a 1/2 KByte of file system preamble info in front of each file --
> can't remember what it's called.
> 
> Somewhere in the Mac system controls, there's a parameter to remove this
> and restore the native file when sending it out of the Mac universe.
> 
> Saving to MIF won't help, as you'll have the Mac OS preamble there as
> well; would not suggest opening the binary with a text editor,
> either; editors can play havoc with some binary characters.
> 
> Check your network controls, or ask a Mac expert about this.
> 
> + --------------------------------------------------------------------- +
> | Frank Stearns Associates     | Developers of Tools for FrameMaker(r): |
> | mailto:franks@fsatools.com   |  IXgen, FM2A, Programmable Export Kit  |
> | 360/892-3970 fx:360/253-1498 |  Now shipping IXgen 5.5 for Windows!!  |
> + --------------------------------------------------------------------- +
> | http://www.pacifier.com/~franks   (Email if web page access problems) |
> + --------------------------------------------------------------------- +
> 
> ========= Personal List Subscription Information =========
> You are currently subscribed to framers as: Hedley.Finger@ericsson.com.au
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> leave-framers-26913F@lists.frameusers.com
> 
> Send administrative questions to listadmin@FrameUsers.com.
> Visit the FrameUsers website: http://www.FrameUsers.com
> ==========================================================

** To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@omsys.com **
** with "unsubscribe framers" (no quotes) in the body.   **